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Whey rent when you can buy? Even though many homeowners are upside down on their mortgage, there are many who are buying their first home or are in a good position to upgrade. Someone considering renting a home needs to reconsider purchasing. Here is a scenario where it makes more sense to buy if one qualifies.

A family looking for a large 5 bedroom home in Northwest Tucson area for rent is going to pay $1600 to $2200 per month to rent a nice home of that size. And good luck finding a nice one to rent! However to own a home that size with interest rates around 4.25% on conventional mortgages as I write this, the mortgage payment would be around $1210 principle, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI). Not only that, you now get the mortgage interest deduction on your taxes! And if that’s not enough, while your home value may not rise any time soon, you’re paying down the principle on your mortgage thus building equity which is like putting money into savings.

So if you can’t stand the idea of throwing away about $20,000 in rent in a year, give me, Rob, a call at 520.282.1417 and I can connect you with a lender for per-approval if you don’t already have a good loan officer.

It seems a lot of people are becoming landlords these days. Either they’re watching too much HGTV and getting the income property itch or like myself and many bought a house in the peak of the market and opposed to selling, decided to rent it out.

If you’re a landlord, or becoming one, do you have the right insurance coverage?

AS A LANDLORD YOU NEED A LANDLORD POLICY on your property and not a traditional homeowners policy. A homeowners policy covers you the homeowner living in the property. I have heard of an instant where a home was burned down and when the insurance company discovered the owners did not live there but tenants did, they did not cover the loss.

Landlord polices are great. When my Mesa house was destroyed in September 2009, my Farmers Insurance agent, Rick or Jason Tyler (480-892-2300) was there to help me understand the ins and outs of my Landlord Policy. This policy not only covered rebuilding, it covered the loss of rent while being rebuilt so I could continue to pay the mortgage. It also covered items that needed to be brought up to code. Even though it cost more than a homeowners policy, it is well worth the investment.

You haven’t really lived in Tucson until you have eaten at Nico’s 24 Hour Taco shops. Nico’s has good Mexican food fast. There are three items I like the most. First, their carne asada chimichange is the best value in town. Also, the chorizzon and egg breakfast burrito was the only thing I ordered until I thought I should venture out and discovered the chimi and potatoe, bacon, egg and cheese burrito which is the third item I love at Nico’s. If someone doesn’t like Nico’s I think something is wrong with them. Just a word of caution, depending on what you order or how much hot sauce you use, I have to warn you about Nico’s Revenge! But its all worth it. Just ask any good Tucsonan.

I decided to start a blog regarding real estate but not just be another boring blog about the real estate business. I decided most people really want to know, “what’s this city all about? Why would people live here? What’s good about it?” So I have decided to start writing about restaurants (I eat out a lot so I’m close to an expert), the weather, sites and odd things we see around town. So stay tuned and see why we love to live in Tucson.